Lss eleed



April 27, 1948. w. J. BERNARD LABEL FEED CONTROL Filed July 23, 1946 Patented Apr. 27, 1948 wsii r j. Bernard, Oakland, Caiif.

eiin1i e in'5w1x2s astre 19-6855750.

he ghts. (cizti z) chine 'jwhi e "aILOtherFifiip rtant aiijiishnents are accessible from. theiroi'it "orT6berat0rsside of the.

mac ine. iiecau seof ithe'r t i ati qhqfthelab ir d. c ontrol,. m ny u e s y hutdowns result-be,- cail'sefi'tis necessary forth'e ratortolleaye the front of the ma'hme'aha terminate c'ontnolwhile hegoes tothe back of the machine to mak th'e adjustment,

Also, becadseoi the remotelocation of this. ad.- J' u'st'rhent, and the loss pfjeoiitrolfof the machine while iiiakirigfthe afljfistinent, labels are sometimes. tornlai bliflioii"tfie ...bias t'ojth'e container-S, the. co'ntaine'r's'p thi'biih ltheimalchine Without a. label, and iii consequence. extended. and frequent shutdowns occiiig whichldoes not solely invows. the fope ater, oi. the. imasz iiie but prob ably adozen orhioreja, fiitioxial workers who are opratiiigaloh'g the lap, mg line; t

Myinve'ntidn 'elimin' s he 'glqfledifi' cUlties,

.' 1s'eit D1a sthel e and nst n con- 's'ible am theiqp- Z ee' nmvmnvtnwm. 111 t ef e of the abels es slw llln wi labe 's s 'diie to the differences; it} thicktwee la em t e-t I 19 RQl' QE nt oontr oh the. la e1 'f an ns aqhineshfthe.generaltypediselosed in Pat.- ent No. 2,336i8,39,.issued-Bepembenm, .1943, which. has a turnbucklewithlocknuts on the back of the machine for adjusting the label .feed, and which c'ahnot b reached from the operatorsside of the machine, but is 'not limited to this specific type o'f-maehi-nesm' e' rf ihrmidificatiohs readily sdfsptittp ether; machine's;

of the machine, so

The objects and advantagesof the in ientionare Venient for control irrespective of the diameters.

oi the containers being labeled,

FonrthQto provide a feed control adjustment which is easily substituted for the conventional adjusting mechanism l J T Q Fifth, to prov'dea control which-can be'fadjust'ed asto height to compehsate for containers of difierent diameters to be labeledland which is self-locking. in any. adjusted positiori, and to provide special locking means for securing the label feed control-in any adjiistedtposition..

In describing the invention reference; .will. he made to the accompanying drawings, iii-which:

fFigL'l is a side elevation oftheinvnticnshown partly in section to illustrateinnerstruc'tures;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View er: the ratchet .or lopk colla'r with afragmentary view of. the under.- side of'the trip lever actuating'arm. i

Fig. 3 is a rear eievationotthe invention shown to'aireduced scale, as applied-tea labeling machine of which only related parts are shown.

Fig. 4 is a side eleva'tionof Eig, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary viewshowing on a moder'ately reduced scale showin'gthepreferred meth- 6d of connecting the trip lever arm tojthe trip lever by providing'azdirectconnection.

I The onventiona1 1abelingimachine has La belt mdepressed by spring-urged rol1ers Ill carried by suitable beams la -for carrying the containers l3 through the machine I at high speed; to. apply sieca'tif, pick upa labeland roll itaronrid the can andaflix the follow-end.bf'thelalaeLsd that, in a continuous cniei'aiti'on, the '.1abe1 .-is applied (and sealed to thecontainerfl Becauseio f the high speed of. labe1ing-,-the--1ahe1s l4 ar used up rapidly, and. -mi slt be advanced 'iipwardiy at: a suitable speed so as to normallif maintain the level above the top 6f the trip lever l5. So iongzas the vtop of the stack is above the trip lever, the bodies of the containers or cans ride oii labels, but as the labels are 15ickedup bysucceeding cans the tub of the stack is lowered. to (where thesrirns 'ofthe cans ride on and depress the triplever which through the contention-a1..eonnection -debresses the honneeti'on I16 with the spring I] urging the pawl lever I 8 downwardly so that the cam I9 which is driven continuously will cooperate with the roller 20 and actuate the ratchet (not shown) to raise the stack of labels. Thus it will be realized that with thick labels the stack must be fed faster than the thin labels, and as the machine is operating on labels of one average thickness and the average thickness changes either i the same stack or in a new stack of labels, that the feed much be adjusted to suit.

With the conventional labeling machine, this adjustment is carried out by going to the back of the machine, loosening a couple of check nuts, then adjusting a turnbuckle and again tightening the check nuts. This is a delaying and slow procedure during which the operation of the machine may become entirely erratic with labels applied crooked, being torn, or with the cans passing through without labels.

My invention replaces the conventional turnbuckle and check nuts by a special adjusting shaft which extends above the top of the machine so that it can be reached and adjusted instantly at will, without loosening any check nuts or other locking devices, and also permits an instant feed at will irrespective of tripping of the feed lever, and is therefore devoid of the objectionable features of the conventional adjusting means, and almost entirely eliminates shutdowns. It increases production, and reduces costs.

The invention consists of a shaft 2| which is threaded at its lower end as indicated at 22 to fit the threaded end 23 of the pawl lever connection I6 on which the conventional turnbuckle is normally mounted, thereby replacing the turnbuckle and its locknuts.

This shaft has a collar 24 intermediate its height on which is rotatably supported a trip lever arm 25 to which the trip lever connection 26 is attached'as indicated at 21, and the shaft is rotatable within the lever arm, and is secured against axial movement by a ratchet collar 28 which is fixed on the shaft as indicated at 29 and is provided in its .undersurface'with a circular series of indents 30 to cooperate with a balltype pawl 3| which is urged by a spring 32 housed in a bore 33 in'the arm 25.

An axially adjustable knob 34 is provided for the top of-the shaft and includes a sleeve 35 of sufiicient length to'provide adjustment to any size of container passing through the machine, the larger the container, the higher will be the beam l 2, and the purpose is to place the knob in the most convenient position, keeping it as low as possible while still readily accessible, and not to require adjustment from a position higher than is necessary at any time.

This sleeve has a slot 36 functioning as a keyway, and apin 31 is fixed in the shaft to function as a key, to prevent relative rotation of the knob and shaft, while a ball 38 isurged by a spring 39 located in a bore 40 in the shaft to cooperate with a series of indents or apertures 4| vtohold the shaft and knob in any relative axially adjusted position. When this knob'is adjusted to its lowest position it is in the most conveniently accessible position from the front of the machine and will extend just above the beam l2 when the smallest containers are being labeled, and when in its most extended position with the lower end of the slot cooperating with the pin 31,- the knob will extend just above the beam when the largest containers are being labeled.

The preferred method of connecting the trip lever to the adjusting means is illustrated in Fig. 5. This method varies from the other method shown in that the connection is made direct between the trip lever and the holding or ratchet means with the connecting rod 26 omitted, thus eliminating one part, the holding means is identical to that illustrated in the other figures with the exception that a hole is bore'dtransversely through the extension 25" instead of parallel with the axis of the shaft. This transverse hole receives the long pin 43 which replaces the conventional coupling pin 44. The collar 24 and clutch mechanism is so located on the shaft as to receive the pin as indicated in Fig. 5.

With this arrangement the shaft is rigidly held in an upright position-the pin forming a rigid support for the shaft with the clutch member or holding means simultaneously functioning as a bearing, and the pin with its trip leverproviding a rigid support for the hearing, There are no nuts to work loose therefore there can be no wabbling of the shaft. The holding means being fixed against any rotative or swinging motion, adjustment of the shaft will be exact and not subject to any play as maybe the case par.- ticularly if the securing nuts on the connecting rod 26 should work loose, Though that shown in Fig. 5 is the preferred type of connection there may be cases where a separate connecting rod will be required under which conditions a suitable connection such as theconnecting rod 26 will be substituted.

For operation the knob is adjusted to the most convenient height. If it is seen that the labels are not feedingproperly, the knob is adjusted from the normal operators position until the feed is correct, the ball 3| holding the shaft in its adjusted position, adjustment taking place by rotating the knobto screw the threaded end 220i the shaft down on the threadedend 23 of the pawl lever connectionto decrease the speed of feed, and upwardly to increase the speed of feed of labels. This adjustment decreases or increases the total length of the connection between the trip lever and-the pawl lever.

If prompt action is required to prevent damaging labels orv the flow of non-labeled cans, a slight tap or'push on the knob will result in an immediate feed of labels, thus taking care, of emergency conditions. The adjustment being instantly accessible at all times the labeling machine can be kept operating at maximum speed and eiiiciency.

Iclaim:

1. In a labeling machine having a ,labelieed control located at the rear of the machine and including a cam-actuable pawl lever having a pivot, and a trip lever, actuable by containers being labeled, and a connecting rod, having a combined pivotal and sliding connection at one end with said pivot on said pawl lever and thread'- ed at the other end, and a spring for urging said connecting rod to'its uppermost position on said pivot; adjusting means for said label feedcontrol comprising a shaft having an axial threaded socket at its lower end threaded onto the threaded end of said connecting rod, with the upper end 'of said shaft extending above the level of the top of the machine for immediate access for tripping or rotative adjustment at will from the front of the machine; a trip lever arm having a bore with said shaft rotatable therein and having direct pivotal connection with said trip lever, and means for maintaining said trip lever arm against axial movement on said shaft, whereby manual depression of said shaft will cause immediate actuation of said label feed, and rotative adjustment of said shaft will vary the length of the connection between the trip lever and the pawl lever to change the rate of feed, thus providing instant and continuous control of the label feed from the front of the machine.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1; a pair of spaced collars on said shaft for maintaining said trip lever arm against axial movement; said trip lever arm consisting of a collar having said bore formed axially therein and including means cooperative between said collar and said spaced collars for securing the shaft in its rotatably adjusted position and releasable through excess turning effort on the shaft for adjustment, and having an arm projecting from one side and terminating in an eye for said direct pivotal connection to said trip lever, whereby the number of parts is reduced to a minimum and the trip lever simultaneously functions as a support for the shaft.

3. A structure as defined in claim 1; a knob adjustable axially at will on the upper end of said shaft for adjusting the height relative to the level of the top of the machine for most convenient accessibility from the front of the machine, and including means maintaining said knob against rotation on said shaft.

4. A structure as defined in claim 1; a pair of spaced collars on said shaft for maintaining said trip lever arm against axial movement; said trip lever arm consisting of a collar having said bore formed axially therein and including means cooperative between said collar and said spaced collars for securing the shaft in its rotatably adjusted position and releasable through excess turning effort on the shaft for adjustment, and having an arm projecting from one side and terminating in an eye for said direct pivotal connection to said trip lever; a knob adjustable axially at will on the upper end of said shaft for adjusting the height relative to the level of the top of the machine for most convenient accessibility, and means maintaining the knob against rotation on the shaft.

WALTER J. BERNARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STA'IOES PATENTS Number Re. 21,707 625,604 1,185,467 1,827,036 2,336,839 

